Will Be Back Soon

I haven't forgot about my blog. How can I? It's one of my new favorite things to do. The cable company is coming to hook up the internet at my house this weekend so I will be back ready to start posting here again soon. Talk to you all later.

Quick Hair Update

Just wanted to make a quick post about what's going on with my hair. I am happy to say that my shedding is 100 % under control. I am not experiencing any major shedding outside of the norm and I contribute that to my rosemary and coconut oil scalp massages that I previously wrote about.

I have to be extra nice to my hair now because the hair coloring session I did a couple of weeks back really damaged my hair. The whole feel of my hair changed. It feels weak, limp and lifeless. I will be happy to get my hair back to a point where it is as strong as it used to be. I said it once but I will say it again (just so I can read my words later on and remind myself, lol)...I WILL NEVER color my hair again.

I will be 5 weeks post in a few days. My new growth is nothing crazy, it is pretty manageable right now. I plan on stretching my relaxer at least 12 weeks.

Just wanted to check in on the old blog. I will be moving here soon and waiting for the cable company to transfer and hook up my services, including my internet, so not sure if I will be posting again within the next two weeks but I will definitely try.

Hope everyone reading this is well and blessed!

The Science of Black Hair Care

I got my copy of the book in the mail yesterday and I am excited to start reading it to learn more about how to "properly" care for my hair. I am sure there will be things in the book that I never knew about, even things that I am doing wrong to my hair that can be working against healthy hair growth. After I have finished reading it, I will give a complete review. I heard alot of positive things about this book which prompted me to purchase it although a few of the reviews on Amazon.com said that it was too "scientific." I like scientific so I guess I will like this book, lol.

Here is the website as well for the book. It contains alot of great information.

Epic Hair Fail

This has got to be the biggest mistake/set back that I have ever done to my hair. Last month I wrote a post about wanting to dye my hair. Well, I got the urge to do it yesterday, I just decided to go for it. I have dyed my hair many times in the past and never had a problem.

I am four weeks post relaxer so I figured that I am far enough along from my last relaxer to dye my hair without any problems. I followed the directions on box and mixed the dye and let it sit on my hair for 20 minutes. When I rinsed my hair out....I am cringing right now just thinking about it. Anyway, when I rinsed my hair out my hair felt horrible!!! It felt weak, fragile, thin, the cuticle felt rough rather than smooth, and my hair was tangled. I began thinking that this dye just ate through my strands. Looking in the bottom of the bathtub confirmed that because I saw lots and lots of little strands of broken hairs. I began thinking that I really messed up this time with my "do it at home haircare" and that I was going to have to cut all my hair off and start from scratch.

After I washed my hair, I immediately thought to use protein so I saturated my hair in ApHogee 2 min recostructor. My hair immediately felt better as far as strength and texture, but my thickness was gone. Even wet, I am used to my hair having a certain amount of thickness. My hair was feeling half as thick as it normally does when it is wet. I rinsed out the ApHogee after 5 mins and used the moisturizing conditioner that came with the hair color, it was the Patene Pro-V Relaxed and Natural moisturizing deep conditioner. I actually liked the conditioner alot and I'm not sure whether it was because of the state my hair was before the conditioning or if it is actually a good conditioner.

I blow-dried my hair because I wanted it dry and straight so I could see the damage. I definitely noticed that my strands are finer, and my thickness is about half of what it was before I colored. It also seems as if the dye changed the texture of my hair because it is much straighter than it normally is. If there is a texture call extra-bone straight, that is what my hair looks and feels like to me now or at least in my mind it does.

• Am I happy with my results? Absolutely not.
• What do I think I did wrong? I believe the color over-processed. I did not do a strand test because I felt it was unnecessary. I think I should have let the color stay on my hair for 12-15 minutes rather than 20mins even though the directions did say 20.
• Is the color worth it? Absolutely not, looking at my jet black hair, I actually realized that I am fond of my natural color because it looks "natural." I'll get use to this color though because the difference is not that much.
• Will I color again? Never. I really mean this. It is not worth the health of my hair, even if a professional does it, it is still damaging.

Here is a picture I took just now on my cell phone so the quality isn't great but I wanted to have a pciture to go with this post. I tried to smile a little, but it just would not come, lol. I am just glad I still have some hair to work with, now it is time to nurse this head of hair back to health which I am assuming will take one or two years of diligent care and growth to get my back healthy again. Lesson learned :(